Sleep Experts Say Bay Area Leap To Daylight Saving Time Not Healthy
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Early Sunday morning, San Francisco Bay Area residents underwent the annual ritual of turning their clocks ahead an hour, but sleep experts are raising alarms about the health impact of the time shift.
In 2019, an American Academy of Sleep Medicine survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults found that 63% support the elimination of seasonal time changes in favor of a national, fixed, year-round time, and only 11% oppose it.
UC San Francisco researcher Dr. Kin Yuen wrote in a co-authored editorial for AASM Journal that Monday after Spring forward results in an uptick in everything from medical errors, suicide risks, mood disorders, heart attacks, metabolic syndromes, accidents and injuries.
These effects remain through the first week following Spring forward and possibly during the entire duration of daylight savings time.
"Since the biological clock for most individuals is not exactly 24 hours long, zeitgebers such as sunlight, exercise, and feeding behaviors are important time cues to foster a regular rhythm," the authors wrote. "Acutely, the adjustment to 1 hour' sleep loss at the spring switch from standard time to day saving time generally requires several days to
adapt."
Across the country, 16 states including California have endorsed the idea of remaining on daylight saving time permanently. Two West Coast states -- Arizona and Hawaii -- don't change the clock at all.
Last November, California voters passed Prop 7, which would make day light saving time permanent, but state lawmakers have yet made it official.
"I push hard to move the bill out of the Assembly Floor, but as you know, this bill has to go to the Senate floor and it was held up by the Senate Energy committee," said state Assemblyman, Kansen Chu.
Congress is also considering legislation to end daylight savings time.
The Sunshine Protection Act has been proposed by Sen. Marco Rubio along with four Republican and three Democratic senators.
"The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation," Rubio said in a statement.
Many Bay Area residents agree.
When the clocks dropped back on hour in November, Gwendolyn Soberay told KPIX 5 even her dogs didn't like the change.
"Screws up my dogs schedule," she said. "They are always off by an hour then because they have a schedule when they go out, when we fed them and walk them."
Dale Wilson says his horses get upset too.
"It takes them about two weeks to get used to it," he said.
Tim Eriksen owns the Clock Maker Clock Restoration shop in Novato. He understands time like no other, precision is the name of the game.
"I make more money because people screw up their clocks at Day Light Saving Time," he said.
